It's a little complicated - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_(computing)#Unix-style_load_calculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_(computing)#Unix-s

It's a little complicated - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_(computing)#Unix-style_load_calculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_(computing)#Unix-style_lo... Essentially, if (Load average / number of CPUs) > 1 (for CPU bound work) then your system is overloaded.